ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday reserved order on a petition seeking a forensic audit of the alleged audio of ex-chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah reserved the order after hearing arguments of the petitioner, Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) President Salahuddin Ahmed, a representative of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Hassan Raza Pasha, and Attorney General (AG) Khalid Jawed Khan.

Justice Minallah during an earlier hearing had remarked about conducting forensic of the audio and sought names of credible firms from the AG.

The court, however, had asked the petitioner to provide the audio recording of the alleged conversation of Mr Nisar regarding conviction of the Sharif family before the 2018 general elections.

When the IHC chief justice inquired from the petitioner on Friday about the original copy of the audio, the latter replied that it was available on the internet.

He said journalist Ahmed Noorani might be in possession of the original audio recording, however, it was unlikely if the journalist would share it with the petitioner.

He, however, suggested that the court may constitute a commission to ascertain veracity of the audio.

Justice Minallah remarked that the forensic agency cannot certify any audio without having its original version.

The chief justice pointed out that the alleged audio was related to a pending appeal and the parties in the case never brought the audio on the judicial record, adding verification of the audio would affect the proceeding on appeal in either way.

The petitioner argued that the legal fraternity was perturbed over such an accusation against the judiciary and it was imperative for the court to constitute a commission to ascertain the facts so people’s confidence in the judicial branch would remain intact.

The PBC representative was asked whether the original audio was in his possession. He replied in the negative but said the audio was available online.

The chief justice remarked that the court cannot order an inquiry on every social media content.

The AG argued that since the petitioner had conceded that the original audio was not in his possession, it was sufficient for dismissal of the petition.

He said even if a commission was formed and if it gives a verdict on authenticity of the audio, there was no guarantee that it would not affect the proceeding on the pending appeal in any way.

The AG said if the petitioner was really serious in determining extraneous pressure on the judiciary, he would request to form a commission on the unceremonious departure of former chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah.

The petitioner, however, described this as scratching old wounds.

He said the reference related to judicial scrutiny of the murder trial of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was pending with the judiciary for over a decade and the government never filed an application seeking to resume its hearing.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2022